Friday, February 18, 2005

I recently lost all of last years Lophophora fricii seedlings (and a lot of the L. diffusa and L. williamsii seedlings as well) because of too prudent a watering scheme – or so I presumed.

To my dismay the withering of the surviving seedlings continued, even after generous waterings. After a closer inspection of the seedlings, using a x10 magnifying lens, the reason became clear: a bunch of red spider mites were feasting on the plants.

The plants were promptly sprayed with insect soap and the treatment will be repeated in a week. It probably won’t kill off all of the spider mites, so the battle is now on. Last year I fought the spider mites using soap, predator mites, cinnamon and garlic brews, and by raising the humidity levels and increasing the air circulation – apparently some survived.

I wonder if I would have been able to save my L. fricii plants if the mites had been discovered sooner.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Two days ago, at the beginning of the weekend, there were not many signs that the Obregonia or Ariocarpus seed would germinate. Tonight more than half of the Obregonia and a few of the Ariocarpus seed had germinated.

The seedlings still have a pale, yellowish hue - hopefully they will take on a healthier chlorophyll-green in a couple of days.

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About Me

Information on the peyote cactus et cetera. The primary focus of the Lophophora Blog is small Mexican cactus species like Lophophora (peyote), Obregonia (artichoke cactus), Acharagma, Ariocarpus (living rock), and Strombocactus but occasionally other subjects will be dealt with as well. Welcome to the Lophoforum and happy growing :-)